Earning accredited qualifications via an apprenticeship

With the increased focus on apprenticeships in the past few years, the variety of courses available has broadened.

The introduction of apprenticeship standards means that an accredited qualification no longer has to be included in the training, however many training providers, including Gloucestershire College, still do. At the College, this is done to ensure every learner has a nationally recognised qualification at the end of their course, which matches anyone who has trained via a different route.

Here are some examples of the professional qualifications you can gain via an apprenticeship at Gloucestershire College, and an idea of how long it will take:

• CIPD Certificate in Human Resource Practice Level 3 – from 18 months
• AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting Level 4 – 18 to 24 months
• CIM Award in Marketing Level 3 – up to 24 months
• BSC Cyber Security Technologist Level 4 – 24 months
• HNC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering Level 4 – 24-42 months
• CMI Diploma in Management and Leadership Level 5 – up to 30 months

So, if the qualifications are the same, what is the difference between doing say, an accountancy apprenticeship, and an accountancy part-time course? The main difference is simply how the training is funded.

For an apprentice – if the employer has a wage bill of more than £3 million their training can be funded via the company’s apprenticeship levy. Or, if the employer has a wage bill of less than £3 million, the government will fund 95% of the cost of training and the company will be asked to pay just 5%.

If a learner decides to get qualified via a part-time course, this is likely to either be fully funded via their organisation, or part-funded via their employer and part-funded by themselves.

The delivery of an apprentice’s training may also differ slightly, for example, there may be the option to have their training delivered by a trainer at their place of work.

Find out more about the apprenticeships available at Gloucestershire College and the qualifications they include here.